


Zodiac

by beeyouteaful



Category: British Actor RPF
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Movie Night, creepy movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 11:25:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2307944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beeyouteaful/pseuds/beeyouteaful
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You just finished watching the movie "Zodiac" and couldn't be any more paranoid. Enter your knight in shining armor, Tom Hiddleston, to save you from the things that go "bump in the night."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zodiac

**Author's Note:**

> Sticking with the movie night theme. It's almost Fall oooooOOOOooooo
> 
> Not gonna lie, after I watched this movie, I was paranoid for weeks. I went out of my way to make sure a car wasn't following me home from the store, so I guess that's where the inspiration for this came from! Enjoy~

The final screens of the film played on your television, but you had to pause each one to read the text.

 

**The first:**

_Following Mike Mageau's identification of Arthur Leigh Allen, authorities scheduled a meeting to discuss charging him with the murders. Allen suffered a fatal heart attack before this meeting could take place._

**The second:**

_In 2002, a partial DNA profile, that did not match Allen, was developed from a 33 year-old Zodiac envelope. Investigators in San Francisco and Vallejo refused to rule out Allen as a suspect on the basis of this test._

_In 2002, the San Francisco Police Department deactivated their Zodiac investigation._

_Today, the case remains open in Napa County, Solano County, and in the city of Vallejo, where Arthur Leigh Allen is still the prime and only suspect._

**And the third:**

_Inspector David Toschi retired from the San Francisco Police Department in 1989. He was cleared of all charges that he wrote the 1978 Zodiac letter._

_Paul Avery passed away on December 10, 2000 of pulmonary emphysema. He was 66. His ashes were scattered by his family in San Francisco Bay._

_Robert Graysmith lives in San Francisco and enjoys a healthy relationship with his children. He claims he has not received a single anonymous call since Allen's death._

 

You turned off the TV and stared blankly at the screen while you processed all that you read. The best suspect of the Zodiac killings was dead. Even if he was the Zodiac, how will anyone ever know?

You sat and pondered about the mystery for a while until your email notification went off and drew you back into reality. You remembered that you had to go to the store and grab groceries for the weekend, but first you had to stop and fill your gas tank.

You padded into your bedroom and changed into comfy leggings. You decided to skip wearing a bra and grabbed your boyfriend’s huge sweatshirt instead. No one would notice. You slid on a pair of flip flops and grabbed your keys and purse. You stepped outside into the crisp, Autumn air and locked your door before walking out to your yard. The doors of your car clicked as you unlocked them. You flopped into the driver’s seat and started the engine, taking off to the gas station.

All the way there, you couldn’t help but think about the Zodiac. It didn’t help that it was almost 9 at night. Even though the Zodiac was probably dead, it was still freaky to think about. You began to feel paranoid. The fact that you were a woman—which the Zodiac always made sure were dead before he left the bodies—and the fact that you were alone made it even worse.

You got out of the car and walked around to the gas pump. You swiped your debit card and unscrewed the cap to fill your tank. You clicked the lever into place on the handle so you didn’t have to hold it. You spaced out as the fuel pumped into your car.

You jumped as the lever clicked back into place. You removed the nozzle from the tank and replaced it on holster. You collected your receipt and got back into the car. On your way to the grocery store, you were stopped at a red light when a car pulled up next to yours in the turning lane.

“Hey!” You jolted in your seat, and your head whipped to the left. The man smiled at you through your open window. “I just wanted to tell you that your gas cap is open,” he said with an apologetic look.

“Shit. Thank you so much for letting me know.” You replied as the light turned green and you sped off.

 

* * *

 

You obtained all of your groceries and went back home. You grabbed all of the bags as fast as you could and ran to your house. You could hardly breathe by the time you locked your door. You tried to calm yourself down by putting away the groceries and laying on the couch.

After a while, you began to hear noises outside and in the hallway that freaked you out. You knew that your were being irrational but your heart was beating a million miles a minute. You caved and dialed Tom’s number with shaky hands.

 _“Hello?”_ He answered. Thank god.

“H-hey, Tom. This is going to sound really dumb and childish and so stupid,” you blurted out.

 _“Whoa, hey. Slow down. Is everything alright?”_ He asked.

“Yeah... I just... I watched this mystery movie tonight about the Zodiac Killer, and I’m really freak-”

 _“Say no more. I’ll be right over.”_ The call ended.

You laid on the sofa for quite some time before you decided to get up and make some tea. You stood next to the counter as you put the kettle on the stove. A knock came from your door, and you screamed.

“It’s just me!” Tom called from outside. You bolted to the door and threw it open.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” You hugged Tom’s torso like a vise as he wrapped his arms around you and rubbed soothing circles over your back.

“I’m glad I’m around to save you,” he chuckled as you reluctantly pulled away from him.

“Yeah,” you breathed, “me too, Tom. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“It’s not a problem. So, what happened?”

“It’s so stupid. I watched _Zodiac_ , and then I freaked out because they never actually found him, and their only good suspect died before the case was closed.” You sat on the sofa and pulled your knees to your chest. “It’s so dumb, Tom.” You hid your face in your hands.

“Darling, it’s not stupid. I know that you hate horror movies.”

“It’s not a horror movie, though! It was just a crime mystery. Nothing jumped out at me or anything!” You buried your face in Tom’s chest, and he stroked your hair with his long fingers. He shifted your position so he was laying on the sofa with you on top of him. His heartbeat was calming and you felt yourself relaxing into him.

“It’s alright. I’m here. No one is going to hurt you.” You took a deep breath in through your nose.

“You smell safe,” you mumbled into his shirt.

“Good. Just relax, honey. I won’t let anything hurt you,” Tom whispered into your hair. He rubbed reassuring circles over your back.

“I thought someone was following me on my way to the grocery store. He just wanted to tell me that I left my gas cap—Oh my god. I left my gas cap open again!” You pushed yourself up from your position. “God damn it,” you muttered as you began to stand up.

“Hold on, darling.” Tom pulled you back down to his lap. “You can’t go out there alone. It’s midnight.” You looked at him incredulously. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “What if the Zodiac is out there?” He shifted his eyes around the room as if to be scanning for any threats.

“You’re such a jerk!” You pushed at his chest jokingly, but you couldn’t help but second-guess your decision to go outside. Tom saw your change in demeanor and squeezed your hand. “Please come outside with me...” you pleaded, voice barely audible.

“Of course, darling.” The pair of you stood up and moved toward the door. “Don’t you want to put on shoes? It’ll be hard to run at full speed without them,” Tom chuckled.

“Shut up! You’re a menace.”

“Why do you think I keep getting cast as villains?” His eyebrow quirked up, and he smirked as if to challenge you. You pushed past him and unlocked the deadbolt before pulling the door open and crossing the threshold. You visibly shuddered and Tom wrapped his arms around your waist from behind. “Don’t worry, darling. I’ve got you.”

You relaxed into his embrace and then took his hand in yours. Leaves crunched under your feet as you padded along the sidewalk with Tom in tow.

“Why did I park so far down the street?” you muttered. Tom squeezed your hand reassuringly.

“Maybe you would calm down if you sang a song?” he suggested.

“Maybe I would calm down if _you_ sang a song,” you teased.

“You’re right, that was a ridiculous suggestion,” he chuckled.

Before long, you made it to your car. You reluctantly let go of Tom’s hand and left the safety of his presence to move around the car. The light of the lonely streetlamp gave you just enough light to find the gas cap and twist it shut. You looked back up to see that Tom had disappeared. Your whole body froze; you couldn’t even turn your head.

“T-Tom?” you stuttered. “Tom this isn’t funny!” You began to shake from the chilled air and from fright. “I swear to god, I’ll fucking poison your food, Tom.” You finally regained control of your legs and stepped back up onto the sidewalk and made your way back to your house. _Stop shaking,_ _damn it_ , you yelled at yourself. Your heart was thumping in your chest and blood rushed in your ears. You turned to look behind you and jumped at least a foot when you saw your own shadow. Your stomach was in your throat now. It was childish, but you felt tears welling in your eyes as you bolted to your front yard. You sat on the front steps to your home and pulled your knees to your chest, trying to catch your breath. You flipped the hood of Tom’s sweatshirt up over your head and slid your hands into the sleeves. You also pushed the collar up to your nose. “Tom… Please…” you whispered, just as you started to cry.

You heard leaves crunch, and Tom rounded the corner of your house as soon as he heard your broken sobs.

“Darling?” He kneeled in front of you and lifted your chin. “Oh, love… I’m sorry. It was just a stupid joke.” You threw yourself on him and sobbed into his shirt.

“Don’t ever do that again, you asshole.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He sat there stroking your head. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you into bed.” He lifted and cradled you in his arms before making his way up the stairs. Once you were inside, he made double-sure the deadbolt was latched. He carried you to your bedroom and set you delicately on the bed.

“Stay the night,” you sniffled. Tom nodded as he made his way to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers. You flipped over to face him and curled up into his arms. “My hero,” you joked. Tom chuckled as he reached behind him and turned out the light.

“Sleep well, my love. Dream of me.”

And you did.


End file.
